Altitude 450 m (1,480 feet). 18,000 inhabitants
Ancient Praeneste founded according to legend by
Telegonus son of Ulysses or Caeculus son of Vulcan
According
to Strabo it is of Greek origin
It was a
flourishing city of the Latin League already in the seventh century BC as
evidenced by the kits of the BARBERINI and BERNARDINI TOMBS at the Villa Giulia Museum and of the CASTELLANI
TOMB at the Capitoline Museums
The city
was on the side of Marius and Sulla dreadfully retaliated in the year 82 BC by
killing all the adult males of Praeneste
Nearby villas
were built for Augustus, Tiberius, Pliny the Younger and Simmacus
It was famous
for the Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia and for the oracle
Here was
born Giovanni Pierluigi, known as "Palestrina" (1525/94), creator of
polyphony
Piazza
Regina Margherita
Corresponding
to the ancient Forum of Praeneste
Incorporated
in the former Episcopal Seminary there are structures of the so-called AULA
ABSIDATA (apsed room) where the Nilotic mosaic was found
Duomo di S.
Agapito
Cathedral
of St. Agapius
It was
built above the ruins of an old building maybe the TEMPLE OF JUPITER IMPERATOR
It was transformed
into a church in the fifth century to contain the remains of St. Agapius from
Praeneste beheaded only 15 years old, according to tradition, under Aurelian
(271/275) in 274 AD
Renovations
at the beginning of the twelfth century
It was rebuilt
during the years 1452/1503
Restorations
during the second half of the nineteenth century and in 1957 after the bombing of
the Allied Forces
The choice
was made to leave in view the façade of the ancient Roman building with traces
of the sundial
COUNTER
FAÇADE
Baptistery
with "Tabernacle of the Saviour" 1565 by Girolamo
Siciolante da Sermoneta (1521/80)
VAULT
"Triumph
of the Cross over paganism" by Cesare Caroselli (1847/1927)
Decorations
in the nave "Saints", "Bishops of Palestrina" and
"Martyrdom of St. Agapius" by Silvio
Galimberti (1869/1956)
1st
RIGHT - CHAPEL OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
"Immaculate
Conception with Saints" 1899 by Domenico Bruschi (1840/1910)
2nd
- CHAPEL OF St. JOSEPH
“Death of
St. Joseph” 1886 by Achille Guerra (1832/1903)
3rd
RIGHT - CHAPEL OF PURGATORY
On the left
"Beheading of St. Agapius" about 1612 by Carlo
Saraceni (1579/1620)
"On the
high altar until 1651, the picture is accompanied by an inscription,
unfortunately with no date, indicating it is an 'ex voto' (a vow) by Curzio
Castrucci (probably the man represented on the left) first noble of the city.
The tradition of the martyrdom of the saint is scrupulously followed,
especially for the mention in the hagiography of the two columns, which give
depth here but also solidify the role of the executioner with his volitional
expression, which is the part most influenced by Caravaggio in the painting.
The background with ruins in the landscape should be noted, the Roman Campagna
with ancient buildings in the distance and small figures dashed with one single
brush stroke, a step further than the landscapes painted by Saraceni during the
first decade of the seventeenth century" (Maria Giulia Aurigemma)
On the right
"St. Agapius" by Andrea Camassei (1602/49)
APSE
Frescos of
the nineteenth century including, above the altar, "The Martyrdom of St.
Agapius" by Domenico Bruschi
Above the
altars faced with inlaid marble at the sides of the presbytery there are ovals with
"Ecstasy of St. Teresa of Avila" and "S. Ildefonso martyr"
by Giovanni Odazzi (1663/1731)
3rd
LEFT - CHAPEL OF THE HOLY SACRAMENT
Frescoes
"Sacramental stories, Evangelists and Prophets" by Domenico Bruschi
2nd
LEFT - CHAPEL OF THE COLUMN
"Crucifixion
with Virgin Mary, St. Lawrence and donors Giulio Cesare Della Rovere and his
mother Elena" by Girolamo Siciolante da Sermoneta (1521/80)
1st
LEFT - CHAPEL OF OUR LADY OF SORROWS
"Our
Lady of Sorrows" and "Stories of Jesus" 1890 by Domenico Bruschi
Behind the
church it is visible the ancient BASILICA divided into four naves build in
uncertain work technique (opus incertum)
St. Rosalia
1656/60 Francesco
Contini (1599/1669) for Maffeo Barberini
"Four
tombs of members of the Barberini family" 1704/35 by Bernardino Cametti (1669/1736) for the Cardinal
Francesco Juniore Barberini
MAIN ALTAR
"St.
Rosalia protects Palermo from the plague" by Francesco
Reale
Here was
kept until 1938 the so-called "Palestrina Pietà" maybe by
Michelangelo Buonarroti now in the Museum of the Accademia in Florence
Sanctuary
of Fortuna Primigenia
End of the
second century BC, formerly believed to date to the period of Sulla (about
90/78 BC)
The
findings, however, prove the existence of the cult as early as the fourth century
BC
It was
built probably due to associated groups of citizens, eager to assert themselves
after becoming rich with the flow of money and manpower from the east thanks to
wars and considerable commercial traffic
It was
probably a class devoted to Roman imperialism, but excluded from political
life: Praeneste was in fact the last outpost in Italy to be affected by the
social war and by the war against Silla
There were
SIX ARTIFICIAL TERRACES, built on the slopes of Mount Ginestro, connected by
ramps and stairways for access
The back walls
of the terraces are made with polygonal and uncertain work (opus incertum)
On the
fourth terrace the oracular worship was located and the sacred well was (the locus religiose saeptus where the sortes of the goddess were discovered)
and the statue of Fortuna nursing Jupiter and Juno as children, described by
the ancient sources
Each of these
elements was in fact framed by one of the exedras with porticos: the left one had
a base at the center, maybe a votive offering, and the right one had a small tholos (round temple) covered with a cone
above the deep well
The
AUDITORIUM (cavea) was in turn topped
by another double Corinthian semi-circular portico, closed at the back by a
wall and above it the small circular temple stood, of which only the
foundations remain. Here the statue of the goddess Fortuna used to be
National
Archaeological Museum of Praeneste
Palace
built by the Colonna family above structures of the upper hemicycle of the
Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia around the year 1050 when they settled in
Palestrina
Destroyed
in 1298, after a one year siege, by Boniface VIII Caetani (1294/1303) who gave
the order to raze it to the ground
It was rebuilt
and destroyed again in 1437 by Eugene IV Coldumer (1431/47) during the war
against the Colonna family
1450/1500
rebuilt by Francesco Colonna
In 1630 the
Colonna family sold Palestrina to Carlo Barberini, brother of Urban VIII
Barberini (1623/44) and Taddeo Barberini rebuilt the palace in its present form
The bombing
of the Allied Forces during the Second World War brought to light the ancient
structures
Museum
opened in 1956 and rearranged in 1998
Frescoes
attributed to the school of Zuccari
First
floor
Eight rooms
with Roman statuary from the places of worship in the Praeneste area dating
back from the second century BC to the third century AD
FIRST ROOM
Sculptures for the worship of the goddess
Fortuna
"Group
of goddesses Fortuna on ferculum".
A ferculum was a brier used during
processions
"Colossal
statue in gray marble" maybe Isis, but formerly identified as the goddess
Fortuna Primigenia, of the end of the second century BC and considered a late-Hellenistic
original
"Head
of Fortuna"
SECOND ROOM
More Hellenistic statuary
"Headless
female statuette" (original Hellenistic) in Greek marble, dressed with chiton and himation
"Three
female statues"
"Statue
of Aphrodite"
THIRD ROOM
Portraiture inspired by Hellenistic models of
realism
"Statue
with breastplate" first century AD
"Statue
with pompous attire"
"Bases
in marble" for eminent citizens of Praeneste
FOURTH ROOM
"Capitoline
Triad" (Jupiter, Juno, Minerva) found in an abusive excavation by the
police at Guidonia. Only example of the triad in excellent condition, with all
three statues intact
"Statue
of Mercury sitting"
FIFTH ROOM
Augustan period
"Grimani
Relief", with female wild boar nursing baby wild boars
"Sarcophagus
with the myth of Endymion"
Altars
dedicated to the Divine Augustus, to Pax (peace)
and to Securitas (safety)
"Portrait
of Augustus"
"Portrait
of Faustina the Elder"
SIXTH ROOM
Second century AD
"Relief
with Parthian triumph of Trajan (98/117)"
"Satyr
at rest (Anapauòmenos)" from the
original of about 340 BC by Praxiteles (about 395/326 BC)
Portraits
of women with complex hairstyles
SEVENTH ROOM
Inscriptions, found in large quantities in Praeneste,
all of the period second century BC/second century AD
"Dedications
of collegia (guilds) of Praeneste to
the gods"
"Funerary
altar of one P. Aelius Curtianus" a doctor
EIGHTH ROOM
Other religious cults (Hercules, Jupiter
Optimus Maximus, Athena). Exotic cults of the second/third century AD
Sculptures
"Mitra tauroctonous", "Cibeles" and "Serapis"
"Fragment
of Dionysian sarcophagus "
Second
floor
Objects from necropolis in Praeneste, like the
Colombella Necropolis, the largest one
NINTH ROOM
Kits of the oriental period (seventh century BC)
"Comb
of ivory"
"Cist with
Centauromachy and handle with drunken satyr and Dionysus"
"A cist
was a cylindrical container, usually bronze, but also of other materials
(silver, wood, leather, wicker), which in ancient times was used in the
Dionysian mysteries, to hide sacred objects from the eyes of the profane, or,
for everyday use, to hold objects of female toiletry" (Vocabolario Treccani)
"Cylindrical
cist with body in wood and leather"
"Mirror
with Bellerophon and Pegasus above the Chimera"
"Mirror
with Helen and Menelaus"
"Coating
in clay with Eros and horses"
TENTH ROOM
Memorial stones and grave markers,
fourth/second century BC from Colombella (some 300 had been found)
Busts of
the fourth century BC
ELEVENTH ROOM
"Sarcophagus
lid with ridged roof" 380/370 BC, the oldest example of a sarcophagus
carved in the Lazio region
"Burial
kit for a woman" fourth/third century BC with bronze cists decorated with
various scenes
TWELFTH ROOM
Temporary
exhibitions and three beautiful "Mosaic floors" of the republican and
imperial periods
ROOMS THIRTEEN AND
FOURTEEN
Artifacts
from the Temple of Hercules, found in the lower part of town, perhaps connected
with the transhumance of herds towards the Abruzzo region from 500 until 100 BC
"Votive
heads"
"Votive
items" including body parts and genitalia
"Bronze
statuette of young adult"
FIFTEENTH ROOM
Unique
pottery of local architecture: sloping sections of pediments (sime) 510/500 BC
End pieces of
the last pitched tile (antefixes)
Decorations
of pediments that here, in the fifth century BC, are higher than normal with a
decorative element that represents the triumph of the aristocratic leader
"Frieze
in clay with the killing of griffins"
"Antefix
with the head of a bearded Silenus"
Third
floor
A single
room houses the large and important "Nilotic Mosaic" of the year 80
BC, from the floor of the apse that opened on the back of the hall facing the
Forum of Praeneste
It is the
largest existing Hellenistic mosaic, together with that of Alexander the Great
in the Museum of Naples
Cryptoporticus
Bases of donarii (containers for votive
offerings) offered to the goddess Fortuna
"Statue
of Hermes tying his sandal"
"Funerary
relief with transvectio equitum",
a parade of the young men (iuventus)
of the Roman equestrian class (equites)
that took place annually on 15 July
"Polychrome
mosaic with female figure and bearded old man"
Bridges
of the Aqueducts
On 31/32 km
of Via Polense and Via di S. Vittorino
St.
PETER’S BRIDGE
144 BC,
restorations of early second century AD. Longer than 90 m (295 feet), almost 19
m (62 feet) high and about 12 m (39 feet) wide
The Aqua Marcia aqueduct here crosses
the Fosso della Mola, a local stream
BRIDGE
OF THE WHEEL
Ponte della Mola in Italian. 269 BC, restoration during
Hadrian’s reign (117/138). 136 m (446 feet) long
The Anio Vetus aqueduct here crosses
the Fosso della Mola but a little further downstream than St. Peter’s Bridge
WOLF
BRIDGE
Ponte del Lupo in Italian.144 BC with restorations of Agrippa
and Septimius Severus (193/211). About 80 m (262 feet) long and 27 m (88 feet) high,
the most magnificent and picturesque one
The Aqua
Marcia here crosses the Fosso Acqua Rossa
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